


Epiphany

by amitiel



Category: FFXV - Fandom, Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Altissia, Cordyn, Dad!Cor, Longing, Lovers to Friends to Lovers, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Soulmates, Unrequited Love, Worry, assumed unrequited love but it's not, brief mention of abuse, the sound of silence au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-27
Updated: 2020-08-27
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:21:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26144800
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amitiel/pseuds/amitiel
Summary: Ardyn wakes up in Altissia with a sudden sense of worry. He knows something is wrong and calls the one person who he can feel, even thousands of miles away.This takes place during the prologue of The Sound of Silence, before the rest of the story happens.
Relationships: Ardyn Izunia & Regis Lucis Caelum, Ardyn Izunia/Cor Leonis, Prompto Argentum & Cor Leonis
Comments: 5
Kudos: 24
Collections: The Sound of Silence Collection





	Epiphany

The air was cool as it drifted through the open balcony, the white curtains drifting gently in the night air. There were signs of a party that had now been discarded in favor of sleep. Empty wine bottles were strewn along the coffee table and floor, wine glasses had the traces of the sweet nectar at the bottom of the pristine crystal, and clothes were littering the floor. With the lights off, everything seemed peaceful, quiet, a far cry from the revelry that happened just a few short hours ago. 

In the bed, more passed out than asleep, was a nameless stranger, handsome in his Altissian beauty as he laid next to the second son of Lucis, the brother to the king who had run away from his future and his fate. Ardyn had gotten used to a life of running, a life of leaving the past behind him. In the late night hours, though, when all was hushed and quiet, a longing filled his heart that no amount of partying or sex could fill.

Ardyn had been getting tired of the life, if he was honest with himself. He didn’t enjoy running like he used to, and there was one person that he regretted leaving behind more than anything. It wasn’t that he meant to leave Cor behind; he had meant to leave the expectation for his life in the past. Cor had gotten hurt in the process, and it was something that Ardyn knew he needed to fix. After all, he loved Cor more than anything. He didn’t leave him because he didn’t love him; he left him because he was afraid.

A sudden panic overcame Ardyn as the sound of silence was filled with a siren in the night. He sat up quickly, looking around for a sign of danger or harm, and found nothing but the calm sea air blowing into the loft. There was no danger, only peace. Yet, Ardyn still felt a pounding in his heart that he couldn’t explain, and he knew something was off. Something was wrong. Maybe not in Altissia, but Ardyn could sense it.

Quietly, he got out of bed and pulled on a white silk robe over his briefs and otherwise nude body. He looked at the Altissian man and knew that he had given Ardyn his name at one point. It didn’t matter; he would be gone tomorrow. Sighing, Ardyn grabbed his phone and walked over to the balcony, closing the glass doors behind him before he took a moment to collect himself. It had been a while since he called, but he had a feeling that it was necessary. 

Heart aching, thudding nervously in his chest, he dialed Cor’s number. The first few times Ardyn called Cor after he left, he anticipated it going to voicemail. Now, though, he knew that Cor would pick up. He always answered the phone whenever Ardyn called. Although Cor had grown into a strong man who never displayed his emotions thanks to when Ardyn had broken his heart, he knew that Cor was waiting for him, perhaps not even consciously. Ardyn supposed that he had been waiting for himself to grow up.

“Is everything okay?” Ardyn immediately asked Cor as he answered the phone. There was an echoing sound of a siren in the background, the same sirens that had woken Ardyn from his deep sleep.

“I’m on the way to the hospital with Prompto,” Cor explained. Ardyn felt a stabbing pain in his heart. Recently, Ardyn had spoken with Cor more, usually about the last case that he worked involving a small boy who had been severely abused and tortured. It was what ultimately made him resign and join the Crown as the Lord Marshal. Cor had said there was too much pain to deal with after that. After putting Vertsael away, he just couldn’t do it anymore. “He’s been hurt by his adoptive parents. I’m taking him in.”

“Do it,” Ardyn encouraged him immediately. He knew that Cor had felt an attachment towards the child from the moment he called and just sobbed to him about it. “He will be lucky to have you as a father.”

“It’s going to be a hard road ahead of him,” Cor explained. Ardyn understood the words behind it. It was simultaneously an invitation and a warning. There would be no time for rekindling a relationship between them if Cor took in Prompto. A different sort of ache filled his heart, one that he couldn’t quite explain. “He’s too scared to even talk.”

“Do what you have to do,” Ardyn insisted, knowing that it would be a long time before Cor even had the capacity to focus on anything or anyone else now. The child needed safety and a home. Cor had always wanted to be a better parent than his own were, and it would be selfish of Ardyn to demand anything other than what Cor wanted. “He needs you.”

There was a moment of silence on the line, a lifetime of things unsaid between them filling the space. “I have to go. We just got to the hospital. I’ll keep you updated.”

“Please do.” Ardyn ended the call with Cor before he said anything that would put them both in a compromising situation. Looking at the calm night sky, he felt a deep unease settling into the very core of his being. With little else to do, he turned around and made his way back into the room.

“What are you doing?” the man asked as Ardyn turned on a light and took out a suitcase, throwing his clothes in it haphazardly. As beautiful as the man was, he wasn’t Cor, and Ardyn knew what he needed to do.

“Here,” Ardyn said as he tossed him the clothes that were strewn on the floor. “I need you to leave.”

“Where are you going?” he asked drowsily, sitting up and pulling on his pants. “I could go with you.”

“No you can’t,” Ardyn simply replied, with no anger or malice in his words. There was nothing there, no emotion or sentiment of attachment either. He needed to pack and prepare to leave. “I’m going home.”

“To Lucis?” the man inquired. “Why go back there? I thought you said there was nothing for you there.”

“There’s one thing,” Ardyn asserted as he closed his suitcase. “You wouldn’t understand.”

“Prince things,” the man assumed. He stood up and made his way to the door. “I got it. Just call me when you’re back.”

Ardyn didn’t say anything, knowing that there was no coming back. Not this time. After the man left, he dialed his brother’s number as he hurriedly finished packing. It had been a while since he called Regis, usually preferring just to text him and tell him that the latest media scandal was wrong even though it wasn’t. Ardyn had been gradually figuring out his life. Now was the time to finally grow up.

“I’m on my way home,” Ardyn explained as soon as Regis picked up the phone. “I’m taking the first ferry to Galdin Quay.”

“Is this about Cor?” Regis asked, concern evident in his tone. “Ardyn, you know he’s not going to-”

“I know,” Ardyn replied. He pulled on his clothes and a warm jacket to protect from the cool sea air. Grabbing his suitcase, he looked at the rest of his life that he was leaving behind. He would send for movers to bring the rest of his stuff later. “But I’m going to be there the moment that he needs me. Like I should’ve been all along.”

Ardyn ended the call with his brother and shut off the lights once more, taking what he could pack in his one suitcase and leaving his life behind him for the potential of a future ahead of him. Even if Cor never once needed him, he wouldn’t leave him alone to suffer through this. Not anymore.

**Author's Note:**

> I got the inspiration for this while I was writing Chapter 56 of The Sound of Silence. It offers a glimpse into the past before Cor and Ardyn get together. Even when they are miles apart, they can both feel each other and know when something is wrong.


End file.
